Dawson City residents think gravel on roads is causing flats

Hector Renaud, Dawson City resident, holds a piece of the gravel in question.

Some people in Dawson City, Yukon, are complaining about the material being used on local roads, claiming it’s puncturing their tires, cbcnews.com reports.

“We’re probably getting 40 tires a month with these rocks in them,” Dustin McCulley, who has owned Endurance Automotive in Dawson City since 2004, told the news agency, adding that he thinks the highway department has changed the rock it used on highways. “[It’s] a dark black rock that’s in the shape of an arrowhead. One end’s flat, and one end is pointed like a razor. It pushes right through our soft winter tires. This is one of the worst years I’ve seen. Some people are coming in with three in a week — the same tires punctured three times. We’re predicting that most of this is coming from the sanding trucks. We don’t know where else it would be coming from.”

McCulley told the news agency that some customers have complained to Yukon’s Highways and Public Works department, but the agency says it doesn’t understand the complaints. Spokesperson Doris Wurfbaum said the department has been using the same material for years, describing it as an “engineered, 10-millimeter standard aggregate,” which is used on roads and highways throughout Yukon.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it, certainly,” Wurfbaum told the news agency, referring to the complaints. “I cannot really speak to the issue of flat tires. Our number one priority is safety on the highway. We need an aggregate that is going to stick to the road to increase friction and traction for the traveling public.”